Divorce Day – 06 January 2025

Today, 06 January 2025 is commonly referred to as “Divorce Day”.  It usually takes place on the first Monday in January.  It signifies a surge of new enquiries for family lawyers from people who have decided to end their marriage.   This may have been a decision they reached over the Christmas period or many months beforehand.

Over the past few years, several people have stayed together even though their relationship has broken down because they fear the cost of separation in respect of time and money.  This is not a helpful situation for the adults or children alike.

The family courts are inundated.  On average, it is taking a year to reach a final hearing in children proceedings and two years in financial divorce proceedings.  That is a very long time for the adults and children going through the separation process.

By contrast, child mediation can normally be completed in three weeks and financial mediation in three months.  Mediation also costs a fraction of the price one would expect to pay in legal fees if one went to court and asked a Judge to make the decisions.

The Government voucher scheme remains available for child related mediation.  The voucher is worth £500 and is used towards the cost of child mediation sessions.  It can only be claimed once.  The voucher is non means tested and is usually shared equally between the parties.  As normally two sessions are required to complete child mediation cases, the voucher means that at Bespoke Mediation Service, the parties will have two free mediation sessions.

So if you have made the difficult decision to end your relationship, you do not need to prolong the stress and uncertainty.  Instead, you can try mediation and be guided and supported into making an early decision in a cost effective manner.   For more information, contact us at ts@bmeds.co.uk.

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